Back/nerve issue? - Page 1

I'd like to have some advice and suggestions from the members here. I have a 4 year old male that

(about 6 months ago) started backsliding on the jumps and scaling wall.  I at first thought it a training

problem, so lowered the jump and wall, trying to revive the zest he used to have.  No luck.  My trainer thought

he'd gotten lazy.  He showed no pain, and never limped, just seemed to not be able to get himself over the jump

anymore.   I'm a worrier and started thinking back/nerve problems.  He is OFA good, so it's not his hips. 

Lately he's begun to hesitate jumping in the van, and even gathering himself for simple stairs.  The last jumping session

had him ending on 3 legs.  His left hind leg came up, he sat funny for a moment, then seemed to lose the pain and

walked fine again.  He is now slightly favoring that leg.  So......no more Schutzhund until I discover his problem.

My question is does this sound like back/nerve/hip problems, or something else?  My vet is not GSD knowlegdeable. 

This dog also has EPI, and my vet had me running over 2000.00 in tests, and was unwilling to do the TLI

(which I learned of here), saying it was really too rare to test for, until I insisted.  For 3 weeks she had me doing

everything from barium tests for obstructions, to parasite tests, even when I told her he was parasite free. 

I watched my boy slowly starving to death because she didn't want to do the TLI test.  So....I'd like to have some

knowledge on the direction to point her.  While my vet is fairly good, she does tend to

do tests that just rack up the bill.  I know there are diseases that afflict our breed,  but know little about which

ones to look at (if it's not a case of a pinched nerve or such).  

I'm praying it's not one of these diseases that I have read about here.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

Becky

You really needs to see a sports vet or someone..... there are lots of things this could be and for any of us to speculate .. well, it  would only be that....

I can tell you that between my husband and his agility dogs and me and  one Schutzhund dog, we have kept the sports vet we use well fed.

All our dogs problems were soft tissue injuries and if I've learned nothing else.. I am all about conditioning, warm up and cool down.. I spend a good amount of time treadmilling, swimming, doing strengthening exercises, massage and stretching.. so much so, there is less time for training but I have lost almost a year due to an injury that turned into another, etc...

If your dog is refusing jumps or simply not his usual self.. why would you think he was being lazy?? My first thought in a case like this is something WRONG with the dog and that is what he is trying to tell you..

We expect our dogs to be super athletes, we need to treat them as such .. find yourself a good sports vet.. if you tell me your area, I may be able to point you in the direction. Most sports vets are also affiliated with orthopedic guys as well and don't forget the alternative therapies such as chiropractic and acupuncture once youhave a diagnosis.

I hope this helps and that you can help your dog.... feel free to email me privately  

Denise

Hi Becky:

     Your dog is experiencing very similar symptoms to those of a GSD belonging to one of our Schutzhund club members.  Her dog had a ruptured disc for which they performed surgery.  After his recovery, thinking that all was well once again, he started with pain and neurological symptoms such as you have discribed.  After further diagnostics, they found that he had developed a type of rapid growing scar tissue that was very invasive and acted much like a tumor.  The doctors did not give her much hope but recommended surgery anyway.  She did not want to risk the surgery again.

     I have done a lot of rehabilitation with very expensive sport horses and seen unbelievable results using alternative medicine and acupuncture.  I was not a believer in the beginning and thought it was a lot of hocus-pocus, however, we have benefited from the results time and time again without fail when conventional medicine had been exhausted.  The doctor that we use is a highly respected professor at U of F and has his own institue.  The owner of the GSD I described above took her dog to him and realized results the first week.  She has remained under his care with continued success and we now have other club members utilizing equal benefits for various injuries.

     I don't know what part of the country you are in, but you might want to contact his institute and perhaps they can recommend one of his students that resides in your area.  He teaches classes all the time and veterinarians fly in from all over the world to learn from him.  His name is Dr. Xia (pronounced Shea).  His institute is the Chi Institute in Reddick, Florida (1-800-891-1986) or you can reach his secretary at the University of Florida in Gainesville at 352-392-4700 ext. 4076.  You can read about his many accomplishments on their website as well.

Good Luck-

Carol, Black Dog Farm

Thanks for the info.  The nearest large city I live by if Las Vegas, about an hour and half away.

Dkia, my first thought was that my boy wasn't being lazy, but being new to the sport,

I listened to the advice of my trainer, feeling he'd know what he was talking about.  I wish I'd followed my

own intuition.  My own thoughts are a sport related injury, hopefully my vet will think so too, and do whatever

tests/exrays that are needed.

Thanks again.

My male had some problems jumping.  He didn't appear lame, but then also would look sore after running the blinds.  We x-rayed everything (except his feet) and nothing appeared on the x-rays so thought it was soft tissue.  It turned out he had 2 fractured joints in his foot.  We did foot x-rays on a growth and found them.  He was stepped on by a helper pretty badly and this probably fractured the joints (our field is a very hard surface not grass).  You might want to check his toes - also knees can be a problem or a jammed tail or sacrum.

computer hiccup

There are a ton of things and we have had 2 different dogs with broken toes too....you sound like you care about your dog.. I know you will find a vet that can help you

Someone else asked where you are located... I know of a number of good sports vets and rehab folks across the country.. I would not hesitate to see a sports vet right off the bat.... I have spent thousands of $$$$ going to this vet or that and everyone having a different opinion and still not helping the dog. The vet we use has such a comprehensive exam procedure and is so knowledgeable.. she is also a horse person.... she amazes me. She is expensive and I drive 2 1/2 hours 1 way to see her on a regular basis

Another vet who also has GSD's and does agility trained with Dr Xia iin the alternative modalities.. she can't praise him enough!